In order to investigate corpus-based speech synthesis techniques we have devised a large experiment in which research laboratories around the world used the same speech databases to build synthetic voices.

Year two of the Blizzard Challenge is upon us, and once again, we would like to have as many people take part as possible. We also feel that diverse bodies of participants (i.e. those who are knowledgeable about speech, those knowledgeable about technology, and lay people) allow for interesting comparisons.

In the web-based listening tests, various waveform files are played to the listener who then is asked to score them on a 1-5 scale or in some tests, to type in what they hear.

You will be asked to register, then listen to and evaluate a set of sentences. It takes around 30-60 minutes to complete all the tests. It is best if the tests are completed in a single session, but it is possible to leave and return later, continuing from where you left off.

When you have finished, please give us as much feedback (via the exit questionnaire) as you are willing. Native language information, etc. will be especially useful.